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'War of the Buttons' review: Perhaps they should concentrate more on buttoning their lips

Pioneer Press

Posted:
10/18/2012 12:01:00 AM CDT

Updated:
10/25/2012 10:25:27 AM CDT

There's a cute little kid in "War of the Buttons" and a cute little town and a cute little war, and the whole thing is so dang cute it could make you physically ill.

Set during World War II, "War" shifts the battle to a smaller parallel setting: A group of boys from a town that is collaborating with the Nazis faces off against a group of boys whose parents fight in the Resistance. They battle, collecting buttons from each others' shirts and pants, while aggressively uplifting orchestral music blares in the background and fields of lavender supply a picturesque set.

"War" feels very much like a Disney made-for-TV movie from a few decades ago with its simple solutions to complex problems and its endless close-ups of begrimed, adorable faces. The ickiest of them belongs to young Clemente Godefroy, who plays the youngest Resistance kid and who seems to be simultaneously competing in both a contest to see how wide he can make his eyes and a contest to see how loudly he can holler his lines. including his oft-repeated catchphrase, "That's what I was going to say."

I'm not sure who the other competitors are, but I know Godefroy wins. And viewers lose.

-- Chris Hewitt

"WAR OF THE BUTTONS"

Directed by: Christophe Barratier

Starring: Guillaume Canet

Rated: PG-13, for language

Should you go? No, although I should mention I also hated Barratier's "The Chorus," which some people enjoyed. This is similar to that but worse. *